Do stocks count as investments on FAFSA? Confused about what to report

Yes, all stocks absolutely count as investments on the FAFSA. The form specifically asks for stocks, bonds, and mutual funds as part of your current investment net worth. Both your parents' $12,000 and your $1,500 should be reported. What DOESN'T count are things like: - Your family home (primary residence) - Retirement accounts (401k, IRA) - Small family businesses - Family farms that you live and work on But regular investment accounts, including any stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, etc. need to be included. Report them at their current market value on the day you're filling out the form.

report everything just report everything dont try to hide anything or theyll make you verify later and thats a huge pain trust me

I HATE this part of FAFSA!! When I was doing mine last year I was so confused too. What's really annoying is that they make you report all your assets but then they don't even tell you how they're using that info to calculate your aid. I ended up reporting my stocks (about $3k worth) and still got decent aid, but I know someone who didn't report their crypto and got flagged for verification. Such a pain!!

Financial aid advisor here. Yes, all publicly traded stocks must be reported on the FAFSA as part of your current investments. This includes: - Individual stocks (like those in your Robinhood account) - Stock mutual funds - ETFs - REITs - Cryptocurrency (yes, this counts too) The student reports their investments separately from parent investments. So your $1,500 Robinhood account goes on your section, and your parents' $12,000 in stocks goes on their section. What they're excluding with the "home equity" mention is the value of your primary residence. Investment properties would count, but not the home you live in. Retirement accounts (401k, IRAs) also don't count. The SAI (Student Aid Index) formula does provide some asset protection allowance for parents based on their age, but student assets are assessed more heavily, so keeping investments in the parents' names is generally more favorable.

my brother didn't report his stocks last year because they had gone down in value and he thought they weren't worth mentioning and he got his SAI increased after verification which meant less aid so definitely report all stocks

I've been trying to call the Federal Student Aid helpline for THREE DAYS about this exact question and can't get through to anyone. The wait times are ridiculous and I keep getting disconnected. Has anyone found a better way to reach them?

To answer your original question more specifically: Yes, you need to report both the $12,000 your parents have in stocks and your $1,500 Robinhood account. The FAFSA distinguishes between parent and student assets, and student assets are weighted more heavily in the SAI calculation (20% for student assets vs around 5.64% for parent assets). Also, make sure you're using the current market value of the stocks on the day you complete the FAFSA, not what they were worth when purchased or at some other point.

I'm so frustrated with how FAFSA handles investments. When I applied last year, my parents had to cash out some stocks to pay for home repairs RIGHT AFTER I submitted my FAFSA. So all that money counted against us even though it was spent on necessary repairs a week later! Doesn't seem fair that it's just a snapshot of one specific day.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice! I'm going to report both my Robinhood account and my parents' stocks on the FAFSA. I'll also include my cryptocurrency. Better to be accurate and avoid verification issues later. Really appreciate all your insights!